Thundering has little trouble with Find Stakes
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Thundering came out of graded stakes company and sailed home in the $125,000 Find Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs. The 4-year-old gelding has been on a tear for trainer Derek Ryan and won the state-restricted race by 3 3/4 lengths.
When Gigante, the even-money morning-line favorite trained by Steve Asmussen, scratched from the Find, few questioned the eventual result. Thundering, who finished third in the Grade 2 United Nations in his last start, paid $2.20 to win.
“Once Gigante scratched, I thought we would have been favored,” Ryan said. “But even if he didn’t scratch, I still think he still would have been tough.”
Both $125,000 stakes on the Colonial card were restricted to runners bred or sired in Virginia or Maryland.
In his second straight victory on the card, jockey Paco Lopez saved all the ground aboard the heavy favorite in fourth, tucking inside while Likeike sprinted ahead in the 1 1/16-mile race. The 44-1 longshot completed the opening quarter-mile in 22.66 seconds and half-mile in 46.78 before fading to last.
Thundering didn’t have much room to advance on the backstretch, but he didn’t need it. As soon as Lopez got him in the clear turning for home, he pulled ahead by three lengths at the top of the stretch and ran off from there. He completed the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:41.69.
“I knew Paco would get his way,” Ryan said. “That’s a great turf course. You have plenty of lanes to get out. I just left it to him.”
Green Beans, a Delaware-based gelding trained by Lynn Ashby, picked up the pieces at 19-1 to finish second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of the 25-1 longshot Wicked Prankster.
Thundering’s hot streak began when he won the $125,000 Japan Racing Association Turf Cup at Laurel Park in June, and Ryan said he plans to bring him back for the $125,000 Maryland Million Turf.
All Brandy Stakes
Pink Ruby switched to turf in her 13th career start and held on to win the $125,000 All Brandy Stakes on Saturday. The Lindsay Schultz-trained filly has now won three of her last four starts and seemed comfortable in her first trip under jockey Sonny Leon.
Coming off back-to-back victories at Oaklawn and Delaware Park, Schultz shipped the 4-year-old to Colonial last month for the $100,000 Maggie L. Walker. She finished a close third in that race, her last before switching to the Colonial turf. She paid $15 to win in her debut on grass.
Typically a stalker on dirt, Leon kept Pink Ruby closer to the pace in the All Brandy, pressing the pace just behind Lucia Sciarra. The 72-1 longshot completed the opening quarter-mile in 24.54 seconds and half-mile in 48.86 before wilting, allowing Pink Ruby to take command on the far turn of the 1 1/16-mile race.
Day to Day, a last-out stakes winner trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., stalked from third early and launched her bid, while the deep-closing 9-5 favorite Nick’s Notion advanced into third from seventh for trainer Robert Bailes.
Both favorites seemed to have a clear path on the leader, but Pink Ruby kicked clear by a length at the top of the stretch and did her best to hold. Nick’s Notion kept advancing under Forest Boyce, but the last-out allowance winner ran out of room, coming up short by a neck. Pink Ruby completed the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:42.43.
Day to Day came up flat in the stretch but easily held third by two lengths over longshot Juniper Juice.
Meadow Stable Handicap
Whenigettoheaven and Paco Lopez had to bide their time on the inside in the $100,000 Meadow Stable Handicap on Saturday, but as soon as a lane cleared the 7-year-old gelding easily kicked through to win by three-quarters of a length.
“Paco stayed patient with him and had a seam up the rail open up, got a dream run through the rail,” trainer Nolan Ramsey said. “Very happy with the horse, even happier with the ride.”
In six career starts at Colonial, Whenigettoheaven has won three times and has never finished out of the money. He won last year’s edition of the Virginia-certified Meadow Stable over Determined Kingdom and took down that Michael Trombetta-trained rival again in the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint on Saturday.
Coming off two impressive victories at Saratoga and Colonial, Determined Kingdom earned 6-5 favoritism and set the early pace under Paco Lopez. The 7-year-old gelding completed the opening quarter-mile in 21.94 seconds and ripped through the half-mile in 44.17.
“I talked to Paco before the race and I left it up to him,” Ramsey said. “We had the inside draw. We knew Determined Kingdom was quick. So I just told Paco that if he wanted to vie for the lead, I was fine with that. If he wanted to take back and try and get first run on him, I was okay with that, too.”
Spirited Sol, a last-out synthetic allowance winner trained by Kimberly Depasquale, stalked in second and had the clearest path to attack the leader and stayed in the mix late. Whenigettoheaven had more momentum, but he was just behind Determined Kingdom and briefly had nowhere to go.
Determined Kingdom, slightly tired and caught defending against two rivals, swung out slightly at the top of the stretch, giving Whenigettoheaven everything he needed to complete the ground-saving trip. He wrested command away with energy left and completed the 5 1/2-furlong distance in 1:01.70.
Coming off a close third in the $100,000 Ben’s Cat at Laurel Park last month, bettors were slightly hesitant to support the Ramsey trainee over the red-hot Determined Kingdom. He went off at 2-1 and paid $6.80 to win.
“I was disappointed in the Ben’s Cat,” Ramsey said. “I thought we were coming in that race very strong. I thought the race set up for us very well. I thought it was pretty simple. Unfortunately, I made the decision to take back and try to stalk the pace, and I think that ultimately cost us the race. To see him run today against Determined Kingdom and really show up is really what we needed to see.”
Spirited Sol, along for the ride near the front the entire way, easily held for third, finishing a half-length behind Determined Kingdom.
Last year, Whenigettoheaven went from the Ben’s Cat to the Meadow Stable to the $100,000 Maryland Million Turf Sprint at Laurel in October. There is nothing preventing the Maryland-bred from taking the same path in 2026, though Ramsey said he could consider a start in between.
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